Lou Taylor Pucci

Actor Lou Taylor Pucci embodied young men struggling to find their place in the world in a string of independent features during the early 2000s and beyond, including the award winning "Thumbsucker" (...
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There's something to be said for a movie that can trigger lightheadedness more than 12 hours after you leave the theater. An orchestra of voluminous shrieks and a bounty of armrest clutches and eye shieldings are what Evil Dead sets out for, and — through its ceaseless tension and overwhelming gore — what it achieves.
A remake of the early '80s cult classic was a risky endeavor — Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead stands as a horror staple, with a charmingly low budget, a banquet of pitch black camp, and an eerie anxiety that has earned it the idolization of horror fans worldwide. Flirting subtly with the idea of self-awareness, The Evil Dead can be attributed with an edging in of a new breed of horror: its follow-ups Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness maintained fear alongside self-parody, inspiring later self-sendups like the Scream movies, Drag Me to Hell, and the grand master of the lot, The Cabin in the Woods.
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The new Evil Dead, three decades and a fully evolved genre later, could not hope for this fresh voice, and as such could never have wished to become what its Bruce Campbell-led predecessor was. Putting this expectation out of mind and simply heading to the theater for a hard-hitting gross-out slasher flick (as was the original intention of those who bought tickets to Raimi's Evil Dead in '83) is the only way you'll enjoy a remake. And this remake lives well up to that promise.
In many ways, the new Evil Dead surpasses its source material. Instead of entrusting our investment in a group of teens who just head out into a wooded wasteland on an unspecified whim, we have reason to care about this new bunch and why they need to be where they are at this time: at the center of the horror is Mia (Jane Levy), a recovering junkie who has rallied her two closest friends Olivia and Eric (Jessica Lucas and Lou Taylor Pucci), her estranged brother David (Shiloh Fernandez), and his new girlfriend Natalie (Elizabeth Blackmore) to the old family cabin to kick her habit once and for all. Sibling tensions are high after the death of Mia and David's mother and David's extended evasion of all family matters — meanwhile, Olivia and Eric are hell bent on seeing Mia through this latest cold turkey expedition, demanding that they confine her to the perimeter until the storms of her cravings have passed.
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That's the most interesting facet of Evil Dead, in fact: it is the group itself that is keeping the group from leaving the cursed grounds. Their will to see themselves through an important episode is what stops them from fleeing to freedom, even in the presence of otherworldly happenings. Flying far and beyond that of its predecessor is the new Evil Dead's emotionality. Beyond just hoping they make it to safety, we want to see Mia overcome her addiction, and the grief over her mother's death. We want to see the siblings, hurt by one another but whose mutual love is palpable, reconcile. Some of us, of course, want to see a bunch of blood and bodily harm and trees coming alive and committing sexual assault. Those people will not be disappointed, either.
After setting up its heavier premise, Evil Dead piles on the disgusting. The scares are limited to a few jumps here and there — which some horror fans might find disappointing — but the tension maintains throughout over the thought of what new piece of grotesque imagery is waiting in the next scene. The shudder- and cringe-inducing exploits shoot out from a bottomless supply, raising hairs and turning stomachs. For some, this overwrought recipe will be nothing but fun. For others, a masochistic, frightening delight. For many, just plain unpleasant — and that community (you know who you are) should avoid Evil Dead at all costs. The mutilation does not come sparingly; you will be challenged.
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And though living corpses popping out from the mud might launch you from your seat, Evil Dead doesn't offer many surprises. The film operates under the traditional formula lain out by the horrors of past. Even marginally well-versed fans of the genre can anticipate the plot points before they happen. It's the emotional turns, the character work, that actually separates this movie from the lot. That and the lengths it will go to in order to make you retch and curl up in a fetal position.
These bodily reactions, while perhaps not the efforts of "high art cinema," are what Evil Dead wants from you. At New York Comic Con, Evil Dead producer Bruce Campbell told Hollywood.com that he hoped the film will "have a few walkouts," calling this "the sign of a good horror movie." While Evil Dead might not live up to the phenomenon of its predecessor, we don't imagine it will have any trouble living up to this expectation.
3/5
Follow Michael Arbeiter on Twitter @MichaelArbeiter
[Photo Credit: TriStar Pictures]
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The first and most important thing you should know about Paramount Pictures’ Thor is that it’s not a laughably corny comic book adaptation. Though you might find it hokey to hear a bunch of muscled heroes talk like British royalty while walking around the American Southwest in LARP garb director Kenneth Branagh has condensed vast Marvel mythology to make an accessible straightforward fantasy epic. Like most films of its ilk I’ve got some issues with its internal logic aesthetic and dialogue but the flaws didn’t keep me from having fun with this extra dimensional adventure.
Taking notes from fellow Avenger Iron Man the story begins with an enthralling event that takes place in a remote desert but quickly jumps back in time to tell the prologue which introduces the audience to the shining kingdom of Asgard and its various champions. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) son of Odin is heir to the throne but is an arrogant overeager and ill-tempered rogue whose aggressive antics threaten a shaky truce between his people and the frost giants of Jotunheim one of the universe’s many realms. Odin (played with aristocratic boldness by Anthony Hopkins) enraged by his son’s blatant disregard of his orders to forgo an assault on their enemies after they attempt to reclaim a powerful artifact banishes the boy to a life among the mortals of Earth leaving Asgard defenseless against the treachery of Loki his mischievous “other son” who’s always felt inferior to Thor. Powerless and confused the disgraced Prince finds unlikely allies in a trio of scientists (Natalie Portman Stellan Skarsgard and Kat Dennings) who help him reclaim his former glory and defend our world from total destruction.
Individually the make-up visual effects CGI production design and art direction are all wondrous to behold but when fused together to create larger-than-life set pieces and action sequences the collaborative result is often unharmonious. I’m not knocking the 3D presentation; unlike 2010’s genre counterpart Clash of the Titans the filmmakers had plenty of time to perfect the third dimension and there are only a few moments that make the decision to convert look like it was a bad one. It’s the unavoidable overload of visual trickery that’s to blame for the frost giants’ icy weaponized constructs and other hybrids of the production looking noticeably artificial. Though there’s some imagery to nitpick the same can’t be said of Thor’s thunderous sound design which is amped with enough wattage to power The Avengers’ headquarters for a century.
Chock full of nods to the comics the screenplay is both a strength and weakness for the film. The story is well sequenced giving the audience enough time between action scenes to grasp the characters motivations and the plot but there are tangential narrative threads that disrupt the focus of the film. Chief amongst them is the frost giants’ fore mentioned relic which is given lots of attention in the first act but has little effect on the outcome. In addition I felt that S.H.I.E.L.D. was nearly irrelevant this time around; other than introducing Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye the secret security faction just gets in the way of the movie’s momentum.
While most of the comedy crashes and burns there are a few laughs to be found in the film. Most come from star Hemsworth’s charismatic portrayal of the God of Thunder. He plays up the stranger-in-a-strange-land aspect of the story with his cavalier but charming attitude and by breaking all rules of diner etiquette in a particularly funny scene with the scientists whose respective roles as love interest (Portman) friendly father figure (Skarsgaard) and POV character (Dennings) are ripped right out of a screenwriters handbook.
Though he handles the humorous moments without a problem Hemsworth struggles with some of the more dramatic scenes in the movie; the result of over-acting and too much time spent on the Australian soap opera Home and Away. Luckily he’s surrounded by a stellar supporting cast that fills the void. Most impressive is Tom Hiddleston who gives a truly humanistic performance as the jealous Loki. His arc steeped in Shakespearean tragedy (like Thor’s) drums up genuine sympathy that one rarely has for a comic book movie villain.
My grievances with the technical aspects of the production aside Branagh has succeeded in further exploring the Marvel Universe with a film that works both as a standalone superhero flick and as the next chapter in the story of The Avengers. Thor is very much a comic book film and doesn’t hide from the reputation that its predecessors have given the sub-genre or the tropes that define it. Balanced pretty evenly between “serious” and “silly ” its scope is large enough to please fans well versed in the source material but its tone is light enough to make it a mainstream hit.

There are 115 films selected for this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Even the most die-hard film buff couldn’t see each one that Park City, Utah has to offer but luckily we have selected the few that look most promising based solely on their loglines, cast, etc. (for a full list of competing films go here, for a full list of non-competing films here). Check out our top picks below!
Cedar Rapids (Director: Miguel Arteta; Screenwriter: Phil Johnston) —A wholesome and naive small-town Wisconsin man travels to big city Cedar Rapids, Iowa to represent his company at a regional insurance conference. Cast: Ed Helms, John C Reilly, Anne Heche, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Alia Shawkat, Sigourney Weaver.
Ed Helms helped write the movie. That alone should sell the film to you.
The Details (Director and screenwriter: Jacob Aaron Estes) —When hungry raccoons discover worms living under the sod in a young couple’s backyard, the pest problem sets off a wild and absurd chain reaction of domestic tension, infidelity, organ donation and murder by way of bow and arrow.Cast: Tobey Maguire, Elizabeth Banks, Laura Linney, Ray Liotta, Dennis Haysbert. A movie with raccoons, infidelity, Elizabeth Banks, and a death by bow and arrow? Sold.
Life in a Day (Director: Kevin Macdonald) —Life in a Day is a historic global experiment to create the world’s largest user-generated feature film. On July 24, 2010, professional and amateur filmmakers captured a glimpse of their lives on camera and uploaded the footage to YouTube, serving as a time capsule for future generations. While the film may be boring, the fact that they did this makes the film worth watching.
The Music Never Stopped (Director: Jim Kohlberg; Screenwriters: Gwyn Lurie and Gary Marks, based on the story “The Last Hippie” by Oliver Sacks) — A father struggles to bond with his estranged son who suffers a brain tumor that prevents him from forming new memories. He learns to embrace his son’s choices and to try to connect with him through the power of music. Cast: J.K. Simmons, Julia Ormond, Cara Seymour, Lou Taylor Pucci, Mia Maestro. While this sounds a little too sad for my tastes, J.K. Simmons is the man. He alone could get me into any movie so I guess I’ll stick it out for this one.
My Idiot Brother (Director: Jesse Peretz; Screenwriters: Evgenia Peretz and David Schisgall) — After serving time for selling pot, Ned successively moves in with each of his three sisters as he tries to get back on his feet. His best intentions quickly bring the family to the cusp of chaos and ultimately the brink of clarity. Cast: Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer. If the cast alone isn’t working for you, Zooey Deschanel plays a lesbian with Rashida Jones. Don’t forget to breathe.
Perfect Sense (Director: David Mackenzie; Screenwriter: Kim Fupz Aakeson) —A poetic and magnetic love story about two people who start to fall in love just as the world begins to fall apart. Cast: Ewan McGregor, Eva Green, Ewen Bremner, Stephen Dillane, Denis Lawson and Connie Nielsen. I only included this one for its ridiculous logline.
Red State (Director and screenwriter: Kevin Smith) — A group of misfits encounter extreme fundamentalism in Middle America. Cast: Michael Parks, Michael Angarano, Kyle Gallner, John Goodman, Melissa Leo. Let’s see how well Kevin Smith handles the horror genre. He’s been talking about this one for years, time for him to put up or shut up. Though something tells me that won’t happen any time soon.
Salvation Boulevard (Director: George Ratliff; Screenwriters: Doug Max Stone and George Ratliff, based on the novel by Larry Beinhart) —An evangelical preacher who has captivated a city with his charm frames an ex-hippie for a crime he did not commit. Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Greg Kinnear, Marisa Tomei. There is something alluring about the prospect of a preacher framing someone for something they didn’t do. Add this cast in and we’re definitely excited.
The Son of No One (Director and screenwriter: Dito Montiel) —Two men in post-9/11 New York are forced to relive two murders they committed as young boys. Their lives start to unravel by the threat of the revelation of these shocking and personal secrets. Cast: Channing Tatum, Al Pacino, Katie Holmes, Tracy Morgan, Ray Liotta, Juliette Binoche. The closing night film doesn’t sound too interesting except that it has Tracy Morgan. Color me intrigued and let me stroke my long and gorgeous goatee.
Bobby Fischer Against the World (Director: Liz Garbus) — The drama of late chess-master Bobby Fischer's career was undeniable,as he careened from troubled childhood, to World Champion and Cold War icon, to a fugitive on the run. Bobby Fishcer is one of the most fascinating people to ever become a grand champion of chess. His story has been told before but personally I don’t think one more will hurt.
The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (Director: Morgan Spurlock) — A documentary about branding, advertising and product placement is financed and made possible by branding, advertising and product placement. A film buff endorsing a movie from one of the best documentarians working in his new film about the film business? You must be crazy.
Bellflower (Director and screenwriter: Evan Glodell) — A ballad for every person who has ever loved and lost – with enough violence, weapons, action and sex to tell a love story with apocalyptic stakes. Cast: Evan Glodell, Jessie Wiseman, Tyler Dawson, Rebekah Brandes. Case in point of a second half of a sentence completely saving the sentence from the first half.
Lord Byron (Director: Zack Godshall; Screenwriters: Zack Godshall and Ross Brupbacher) — When he's not pursuing women, Byron is smoking weed and loafing around. But he's grown restless in his middle-age and feels the need to escape – he just doesn't know where to go. Cast: Paul Batiste, Gwendolyn Spradling, Kayla Lemaire. We’re definitely not wanting to see this looking for advice. Definitely not.
The Off Hours (Director and screenwriter: Megan Griffiths) — A passing truck driver brings an unfamiliar sense of optimism to a woman working the night shift at a quiet diner, reminding her it's never too late to become the person you always wanted to be. Cast: Amy Seimetz, Ross Partridge, Scoot McNairy, Lynn Shelton, Bret Roberts, Tony Doupe. I love truck drivers. I’m pretty sure I still want to be one. If this doesn’t have a killer country soundtrack I want my money back (which is whopping zero dollars, but whatever).
to.get.her (Director and screenwriter: Erica Dunton) — Five girls come together for one fateful night where anything goes. They all had secrets, but their friendship was the only thing they knew to be true. Cast: Jazzy De Lisser, Chelsea Logan, Adwoa Aboah, Jami Eaton, Audrey Speicher. BLUGH.
Kaboom (Director and screenwriter: Gregg Araki)— A science fiction story centered on the sexual awakening of a group of college students. Cast: Thomas Dekker, Haley Bennett, Chris Zylka, Roxane Mesquida, Juno Temple. A science fiction film about sexual awakening? I’m there.
Meek’s Cutoff (Director: Kelly Reichardt; Screenwriter: Jon Raymond) — In 1845, three families who have hired mountaineer Stephen Meek to guide their wagons over the Cascade Mountains get lost and face hunger, thirst and a lack of faith in their instincts for survival. Cast: Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Zoe Kaza, Bruce Greenwood, Shirley Henderson. So this is basically a period piece of Alive with two of the best actors around. Done.
Submarine (Director: Richard Ayoade; Screenwriter: Richard Ayoade from the novel by Joe Dunthorne) — Fifteen-year-old Oliver Tate has two big ambitions: to save his parents' marriage and to lose his virginity before his next birthday. Cast: Craig Roberts, Paddy Considine, Sally Hawkins, Yasmin Paige. This film had a big showing at this years Toronto Film Festival. I just want to see it already!
Uncle Kent (Director: Joe Swanberg; Screenwriters: Joe Swanberg and Kent Osborne) — A pothead cartoonist in Los Angeles spends a weekend trying to sleep with his visiting house guest – a woman from New York he met on Chatroulette. Cast: Kent Osborne. While the premise sounds awesome, basing around the already past its prime fad Chatroulette seems like a wrong move.
Hobo with A Shotgun (Director: Jason Eisener; Screenwriter: Johnathan Davies) — A hobo hops from a train with dreams of a fresh life in a new city, but instead finds himself trapped in an urban hell. When he witnesses a brutal robbery, he realizes the only way to deliver justice is with a shotgun in his hands and two shells in the chamber. Cast: Rutger Hauer, Molly Dunsworth, Gregory Smith, Brian Downey. Looks like we found the winner for Best Title.
Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same (Director and screenwriter: Madeleine Olnek) — A shy greeting card store employee unknowingly falls for a lesbian space alien while two government agents closely track their romance. Cast: Lisa Haas, Susan Ziegler, Jackie Monahan, Cynthia Kaplan, Dennis Davis, Alex Karpovsky, Rae C Wright. Just kidding about the best title thing from above. This is the clear winner.
Troll Hunter (Trolljegeren) (Director: Andre Ovredal) — A group of student filmmakers get more than they bargained for when tangling with a man tasked with protecting Norway from giant trolls. Cast: Otto Jespersen, Glenn Erland Tosterud, Hans Morten Hansen, Johanna Mørch, Tomas Alf Larsen. Norwegian giant trolls, what more could you ask for?
Corman’s World: Exploits Of A Hollywood Rebel (Director: Alex Stapleton) — Tracks the triumphant rise of Hollywood’s most prolific writer-director-producer, the true godfather of independent filmmaking. Cast: Jack Nicholson, Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, James Cameron, Roger Corman. Just look at who all is involved and tell why you wouldn’t watch this? Now shut up and learn something.
Jess + Moss (Director: Clay Jeter; Screenwriters: Clay Jeter and Debra Jeter) — Without immediate families that they can relate to, and lacking friends their own age, second cousins Jess and Moss only have each other. A series of visceral vignettes conjure memories of companionship and sexual awakening during a summer shared together on their Kentucky farm. Cast: Sarah Hagan, Austin Vickers. So it’s like George Michael and Maebe make a movie? Whatever, I’ll watch.
The Nine Muses (Director and screenwriter: John Akomfrah) — An allegorical fable divided into overlapping musical chapters, this film retells the history of mass migration to post-war Britain through the suggestive lens of Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey. And the Most Pretentious Sounding Film award goes to The Nine Muses. Thanks for playing.
Benavides Born (Director: Amy Wendel; Screenwriters: Daniel Meisel and Amy Wendel) — A high school senior in a forgotten town has earned admission to the University of Texas at Austin but can't afford to go. Her one shot is a scholarship for winning the State Powerlifting Championship. Cast: Corina Calderon, Jeremy Ray Valdez, Joseph Julian Soria, Julia Vera, Julio César Cedillo. Female Powerlifting hasn’t exactly gotten the best films attached to it. I hope this film changes that.
Homework (Director and screenwriter: Gavin Wiesen) — Quirky, rebellious George has no ambitions other than to cut his next class. But one day, one girl gives him the perfect reason to figure out who he really is. Cast: Freddie Highmore, Emma Roberts, Michael Angarano, Elizabeth Reaser with Rita Wilson and Blair Underwood. This sounds stupid but Emma Roberts is kind of cute, so who knows.
The Ledge (Director and screenwriter: Matthew Chapman) — Perched on a ledge, a man says he must jump by noon, while a cop races against time to get to the bottom of it. Cast: Charlie Hunnam, Liv Tyler, Patrick Wilson and Terrence Howard with Christopher Gorham. Early reviews of this film say its really good. So I’ll go along for now.
Like Crazy (Director: Drake Doremus; Screenwriters: Drake Doremus and Ben York Jones) — A young American guy and a young British girl meet in college and fall in love. Their love is tested when she is required to leave the country and they must face the challenges of a long-distance relationship. Cast: Anton Yelchin, Felicity Jones, Jennifer Lawrence, Charlie Bewley, Alex Kingston. UGH... wait, it’s Anton Yelchin and Jennifer Lawrence? Never mind, this is going to be awesome.
Take Shelter (Director and screenwriter: Jeff Nichols) — A working-class husband and father questions whether his terrifying dreams of an apocalyptic storm signal something real to come or the onset of an inherited mental illness he's feared his whole life. Cast: Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain, Shea Whigham, Katy Mixon, Kathy Baker. This looks super serious, and that’s great, but I really just want to see Katy Mixon.
Terri (Director: Azazel Jacobs; Screenwriters: Patrick Dewitt and Azazel Jacobs) — Orphaned to an uncle who is fading away, mercilessly teased by his peers and roundly ignored by his teachers, Terri is alienated and alone. When the dreaded vice-principal sees something of himself in Terri, they establish a friendship which opens Terri up to the possibility that life is not something to be endured, but something to be shared, and even enjoyed. Cast: Jacob Wysocki, John C. Reilly, Creed Bratton, Olivia Crocicchia, Bridger Zadina. Ok, I know this film sounds ridiculous, but it has Creed Bratton in it. That’s gotta count for something, right?
The Untitled Sam Levinson Project (Director and screenwriter: Sam Levinson) — A pair of reckless siblings are dragged into a chaotic family wedding by their overwrought mother. Cast: Demi Moore, Kate Bosworth, Jeffrey DeMunn, Ellen Barkin, Ellen Burstyn, Thomas Haden Church. Wedding movies involving dis-functional families are always the best.
BEING ELMO: A Puppeteer’s Journey (Director: Constance Marks) — The Muppet Elmo is one of the most beloved characters among children across the globe. Meet the unlikely man behind the puppet – the heart and soul of Elmo – Kevin Clash. A movie about the guy who has his hand up Elmo’s butt all day? Actually, that sounds kind of sweet.
Page One: A year inside the New York Times (Director: Andrew Rossi; Screenwriters: Kate Novack and Andrew Rossi) — Unprecedented access to theNew York Times newsroom yields a complex view of the transformation of a media landscape fraught with both peril and opportunity. Something tells me it will be more than bored journalists checking Twitter all day.
The Redemption of General Butt Naked (Directors: Eric Strauss and Daniele Anastasion) — A brutal warlord who murdered thousands during Liberia's horrific 14-year civil war renounces his violent past and reinvents himself as an Evangelist, facing those he once terrorized. And the award for logline least like the film the title suggests goes to this film.
Abraxas (Director: Dai Sako; Screenwriters: Dai Sako and Naoki Kato) — After botching a speech on career guidance at a local high school, a depressed Zen monk with a heavy metal past realizes that only music can revive his spirit.Cast: Suneohair, Rie Tomosaka, Manami Honjou, Ryouta Murai, Kaoru Kobayashi.
Zen monks and heavy metal? This nirvana goes to 11.
All Your Dead Ones (Todos Tus Muertos) (Director Carlos Moreno; Screenwriters: Alonso Torres and Carlos Moreno) — One morning, a peasant wakes to find a pile of bodies in the middle of his crops. When he goes to the authorities, he quickly realizes that the dead ones are a problem nobody wants to deal with. Cast: Alvaro Rodríguez, Jorge Herrera, Martha Marquez, Harold Devasten, John Alex Castillo. Sounds gross to find a bunch of dead bodies amongst your crops, but it does sound like a great film.
Happy, Happy (Sykt Lykkelig) (Director: Anne Sewitsky; Screenwriter: Ragnhild Tronvoll) — A perfect housewife, who just happens to be sex-starved, struggles to keep her emotions in check when an attractive family moves in next door. Cast: Agnes Kittelsen, Henrik Rafaelsen, Maibritt Saerens, Joachim Rafaelsen.
You had me at sex-starved Norwegian housewife.
Vampire (Director and screenwriter: Iwai Shunji) — On the surface, Simon seems like a fairly normal, average young man, devoted to his teaching job and ailing mother. Secretly, he is compelled to hunt through online chat rooms and message boards, searching for the perfect girl who will ensure his own survival. Cast: Kevin Zegers, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Rachel Leigh Cook, Kristin Kreuk, Aoi Yu and Adelaide Clemens. A Japanese film about creepy guys hunting girls? Surely you jest.
KNUCKLE (Director: Ian Palmer) — An epic 12-year journey into the brutal and secretive world of Irish Traveler bare-knuckle fighting, this film follows a history of violent feuding between rival clans. I hope this film will make me want to break a bottle over my head and throw someone out a pub window.
Project Nim (Director: James Marsh) — From the Oscar-winning team behind Man on Wire comes the story of Nim, the chimpanzee who was taught to communicate with language as he was raised and nurtured like a human child. I’ve often dreamed of a world where men and monkeys live as one. Also I’ve always wanted to ask a Gorilla if he wanted to play video games with me.
Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure (Director:Matthew Bate) — When two friends tape-recorded the fights of their violently noisy neighbors, they accidentally created one of the world's first 'viral' pop-culture sensations. And with a great title and an intriguing logline, this film has me wanting more. Sounds delightful.

The 24 year old, who starred in the critically acclaimed 2005 film Thumbsucker, was reportedly targeted by four men on 3 July (10) outside his friend's house in Belmar in what appears to have been a random act of violence.
According to his father, Pucci was knocked unconscious in the beating and suffered five broken bones in his face.
He has since had a titanium plate put in his face and is recovering from the surgery, reports TMZ.com.
Police investigating the incident have yet to make any arrests in the case.

WHAT IT’S ABOUT?
Adapted by Bret Easton Ellis (Less Than Zero The Rules of Attraction American Psycho) from his own 1994 novel about the excesses of the rich and not-so-lucky in Hollywood circa 1983 this shallow film seems out of touch now in a time of economic turmoil — even if it is disguised as a period piece. Presented as a multi-story look at L.A. at its sordid best The Informers introduces us to a sleazy movie executive his estranged wife her poolboy lover a coked-out British punk rock star a fading newscaster a voyeuristic doorman a slimy ex-con and any number of beautiful vapid sexed-up twentysomethings who seem to spend their days either partying or snorting immune to any kind of social consciousness in an era marked by the dawn of the AIDS epidemic.
WHO’S IN IT?
The ensemble cast is split between older stars who’ve seen better days and a promising group of new talent unfortunately caught up in this mess. Billy Bob Thornton sleepwalks through the studio exec role while a pre-Wrestler Mickey Rourke (in a glorified cameo) shows us the kind of dreck he’s been stuck in the last few years as a tough ex-con who seems obsessed with someone called “the Indian.” Kim Basinger survives intact as a long-suffering Hollywood wife looking for a human connection from anyone who crosses her path while Winona Ryder projects just a shadow of her once-promising career as the aging newscaster. The late Brad Renfro who himself apparently fell victim to a drug-induced lifestyle is oddly touching as the peeping-tom doorman. Filling in the lost youth part of the equation are Jon Foster Amber Heard Austin Nichols Lou Taylor Pucci and amusing British star Mel Raido who do the best they can with their clothes on and off. Chris Isaak and Rhys Ifans also turn up in minor roles.
WHAT’S GOOD?
For what it’s worth The Informers has been handsomely shot and does capture emotional deadness well but unfortunately there’s nothing behind the façade of a group of characters we just don’t care about.
WHAT’S BAD?
Ellis covered this all in Less Than Zero — same era same losers — so did we really need a LESS THAN Less Than Zero in 2009? It’s also a shame to see a fine group of actors so completely wasted both on screen and off.
BEST STONED-OUT LOSER SCENE:
The tenor of the whole film is summed up in the ice cube-filled bathtub sequence where a drunken almost catatonic British rocker proceeds to nearly kill himself trying to light a cigarette and answer a phone that NEVER stops ringing.
NETFLIX OR MULTIPLEX:
This movie may already be available on DVD before you finish reading this review.

Based on the Walter Kirn novel of the same name Justin Cobb (Lou Taylor Pucci) is inward and shy not exactly winning qualities for a member of the debate team. Aside from just getting through the daily rigors of school he has one additional highly evident tick: he sucks his thumb. Not loudly not openly but quietly and in a withdrawn posture usually when he is by himself even if not alone. His father Mike (Vincent D'Onofrio) will walk quietly up to his son; when you think he's going to put a comforting hand on his shoulder he'll slap at his arm knocking his thumb out of his mouth. Justin's mom Audrey (Tilda Swinton) at once concerned and supportive is at the same time utterly focused on her job at a clinic healing the addicted. For awhile it looks like Justin's only friend is his dentist Dr. Perry Lyman (Keanu Reeves) who eventually offers the advice of hypnosis to him to break him of his habit. But when all else fails it's when Ritalin is prescribed that Justin's life takes a dramatic turn for the better--he's suddenly a bright focused leader of the debate squad. Before long he is dismantling his opponents in competition. But at what price?
Pucci is the shuffling stringy-haired hero skinny and ungainly. When he's confronted--and he often is by parents administrators and kids at school--he stares back with wide-eyed bewilderment. It's as if he can't believe his life is taking this turn. What's refreshing about Pucci and his performance is that it is not the stuff of mainstream cinema where the outsiders are still more James Dean than Beaver Cleaver. And it appears that Justin couldn't have fallen farther from the tree considering that D'Onofrio plays his father Mike with simmering aggression--a former athlete who now manages a sporting goods chain. He grins like he's going to take just a few more minutes of whatever you're saying before he slugs you one. Swinton while a great actress is a bit hard to believe as his wife; she seems too restless and intellectual but this does add some originality to the movie. Keli Garner is the sly tease Rebecca one of those teenagers who laughs and looks away when asked a question as if she is in on a secret she can't be bothered with telling you. Rounding out the cast are three name surprises who almost distract. Reeves as the wisdom-spouting dentist who hopefully is in on the joke of his spacey line readings. Also on board is Vince Vaughn as a fidgety debate coach. And there is Benjamin Bratt playing a cop on a deliberately cheesy TV show right out of Walker Texas Ranger. Ragged and flaky and possibly having an affair with Justin's mother the character is a refreshing change for the buttoned-down Bratt.
Thumbsucker has a dry cold quality that is occasionally dreamy. Newcomer Mike Mills directs the movie with a clean style but like a lot of independent film it feels a little self-important. Justin doesn't live a life of squalor or endless real pain so where is the inescapable zaniness of youth? It's not completely lacking in the film just with the young characters. After all Vince Vaughn plays a teacher. But like Benjamin Bratt as the kooky chain-smoking TV star who's graced with a most undignified flashback to an effort to smuggle cocaine into the rehab clinic that goes horribly awry and Reeves as the trippy dentist the comedy here comes from the adults and their dysfunction. Perhaps the film should be celebrated for its wacky promise that eccentricity is there to be had after high school if you can't find any while you're there. But it's the depressing quietness of Justin's day-to-day life that brings the film down. While plenty of kids have tough lives in high school there is precious little joy here. The closest it comes to euphoria is a night when Justin and three girls form the debate team all sneak some beers in their hotel room the night before an away meet. It's here that the film unmoors itself from its brooding qualities but it's over before it starts as if the brisk jump-cutting sequence were there to fulfill some sort of obligation. It's as if the movie had to get back to its business of being bleak.

Three stories involving three quite different contemporary women facing circumstances that are radically changing their lives unfold sequentially. In the first story Delia (Kyra Sedgwick) a tough promiscuous working-class mom dumps abusive husband Kurt (David Warshofsky) and leaves their trailer with her kids for shelter at the home of Fay (Mara Hobel) a former classmate whom she once saved from humiliation but hasn't seen for years. Delia begins her new life by taking on a waitress job at the local restaurant where she proceeds to give an aggressively flirtatious young customer a humiliating lesson in female power. Another sequence tells the story of Greta (Parker Posey) an ambitious publishing drone who gets her big break when she brilliantly edits the manuscript of hot young writer of the moment Thavi (Joel de la Fuente). Greta's vulnerability is brought to the fore when she realizes she's attracted to him even though she has a sweet husband. Her emotions are further stirred by her background--her father is a demanding and oft-married liberal Jewish lawyer--and by her awareness that changes in life are inevitable. Paula (Fairuza Balk) is a punky aimless young woman who deserts Vincent (Seth Gilliam) her live-in lover who rescued her from a park bench many months earlier and takes off in her car to visit her mom. On the way she picks up runaway Kevin (Lou Taylor Pucci) who arouses her maternal instincts especially after Paula discovers that he's a victim of physical abuse. But Kevin is not everything he seems to be nor is Paula.
Perhaps the best reason to see Personal Velocity is to catch the terrific performances of Kyra Sedgwick indie queen Parker Posey and the always delightfully quirky Fairuza Balk. Sedgwick is uncannily convincing as the trashy but decent Delia; Posey whose previous roles have sometimes veered close to caricature does a fine job here subtly portraying Manhattan publishing princess Greta and Balk effortlessly finds and humanizes her lost soul character.
Above all writer/director Rebecca Miller (1995's Angela) displays remarkable confidence in her sophomore turn as filmmaker. Miller wisely knows how to dwell on a moment a face a gesture so that the full emotional value is mined. Working with Ellen Kuras a fine cinematographer who here shows her finesse with video Miller delivers a visual canvas perfectly suited to her characters and their dilemmas but even more importantly orchestrates her actors' outstanding performances.

Summary

Actor Lou Taylor Pucci embodied young men struggling to find their place in the world in a string of independent features during the early 2000s and beyond, including the award winning "Thumbsucker" (2005), "Empire Falls" (HBO, 2005) and "The Story of Luke" (2012). He began his acting career on stage, working in community theater in his native New Jersey before quickly graduating to Broadway in a production of "The Sound of Music." His feature-film debut came with 2002's "Personal Velocity: Three Portraits," which captured the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival that same year. The film's critical success soon minted Pucci as the go-to player for sensitive young men, a role he played to perfection in "Thumbsucker" (2005), which earned him major awards at Sundance and the Berlin Film Festival. Pucci would largely play variations on the same character for much of the 2000s in minor indie projects like "Fast Food Nation" (2006) and "The Informers" (2008), while generating positive reviews for performances as an autistic young man in the film festival favorite "The Story of Luke." However, one of his most successful projects - from a box-office standpoint - was "Evil Dead" (2013), the ultra-gory reboot of the Sami Rami horror classic. Its success underscored Pucci's ability to work well within both studio and indie environments, while also pointing to a future in mainstream features.

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His aunt, Cindy, encouraged him to take his first stage role at the age of 10 in a community theater production of "Oliver!"

Practices stage magic in his spare time, and played a magician in "Beginners."

Served as a juror for the Short Film Competiton at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

Suffered extensive facial injuries during a 2010 assault in New Jersey.

An admitted fan of cult movies, he counts the original "Evil Dead" among his favorites, and initially rejected the offer to audition for the 2013 version out of respect for the Sam Raimi's 1981 film.